The Message Relayed is the Same
by At the writer's block
Summary: Just random ficlets, varying pairings but mostly SladeTerra. Rated T just in case. NEW CHAPTER: Escape
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Dreams

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing, and so on...

**Pairing:** None

* * *

Raven doesn't sleep much anymore. 

And how could she? There's far too much noise in the tower for her to even dream of resting. But it isn't as if everyone is yelling, or something. Everyone's mind is just too loud. They're emotions are bottled up, and at night they scream for attention.

Take Robin, for example. He rarely speaks, and when he does, it's too important to ignore. Everything he says has a meaning and purpose; this makes his thoughts annoying, and mostly utter nonsense. And his dreams are...too explicit. Too graphic. Violence and sex and gore. Like a bad horror film from the late seventies.

Starfire is much the same. On her planet, she has seen much war and bloodshed, but her dreams aren't vulger or gorey. Just sad. She misses her siblings, her parents, her caretaker. Even if she won't admit it, she's depressed.

Cyborg, on the other hand, doesn't miss his parents. On the contrary, he misses his body. At night, he dreams of his old friends, his new crushes, playing basketball at school, and so much more. Every dream ends with him realizing he's a robot, and he wakes up mentally screaming.

Beast Boy puzzles Raven, because he is the quietest of all of the Titans. He rarely dreams, and when he does, it's usually about two things; living in Africa with his parents, and of Terra. Some nights are horrible for him, because all he can do is replay in his mind over and over the last things Terra said to him. He always wakes up crying on those nights.

The one thing Raven is grateful for, is that Terra doesn't live at the tower anymore. The only thing you could ever hear from her at night was about the people who died because of her. the earthquakes, the avalanches, the mudslides...it was scary. And when she came back (with a new outfit and new control) Raven couldn't hear anything. That's why Raven wouldn't trust her. No one Raven knew could bottle up their emotions so well, they didn't feel anything anymore.

Not even Raven was that good.

* * *

On of my first fics ever without a pairing kicking you in the face! woo! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Rain

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Teen Titans or the rain or deserts

**Pairing:**None

**Other Notes:** I'd say this takes place pre Titan Rising. Apprentice!Terra

* * *

It's raining out. Correction, it's _pouring_ out. Cats and dogs. Typhooning. Terra considers making a break for it to build an ark. Getting two of any animal she can find and escaping; however, this might mean that she'll need to find another human (Humans are animals too, you know). Her only option, though, is the man standing in front of her, and right now that's a less than desirable choice. 

Training out in the desert would've been a good idea, but when it rains in a desert, it _floods_. And Terra hate hate hate _hates_ the rain. It makes the dirt mud and the rocks slick. It makes her hair frizz later, and it makes her freezing cold. It makes her want to scream. It makes her cry, or at least look like she's crying.

Right now her hair is laying in bunchy strands in front of her eyes, but it won't stay back behind her ears, so she lets it go. It wouldn't effect her vision either way, the rain is so thick. She can barely make out Slade's figure only ten feet away.

She stands up straight and tries to keep herself from shivering. A thought pops into her head to use some rocks for cover, but Terra can't see any from where she is now. She shudders, and clenches her mouth shut, but her teeth clack against each other anyway. She closes her eyes and runs her fingers through her tangled hair. When she looks up again, she tries to focus on Slade, but he isn't standing in front of her anymore. For a brief moment, she believes that she's free to leave. This idea is slammed out of her head by the bo staff connecting with her hip.

Her body jerks to the right, twisting away from the blow. She turns so that she'll land on her back, so that she's facing the rain. She closes her eyes again, and lets herself fall, fall, fall...

Before she gets up, she lets the mud soak through her hair. A quick moment of peace.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **The City

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Pairings: **Kinda Slerra

**Other Notes:** I stole some of this for a Slerra fic from a writing prompt community at livejournal. I love how it turned out. Post Things Change.

* * *

The sounds of the city crash around her, but she sits as though deaf. She's reading that book, on that bench, just like always. 

The park will never change, and the city will never change. This she has learned.

Years have passed since she threw her lot in with all of the wrong people, but she's older now. Wiser, maybe. She has a degree to prove it, anyway.

She doesn't look the same either. Her golden hair is shorter and shaggier, as if someone who didn't know a thing about hairstyles hacked at it with scissors (but in a good way).

She turns the page slowly.

He comes along, and poses an uneasy, silent question as he pauses in front of her. Same as always. She looks up slowly, meeting his eye, not even bothering to glance over at the silk eyepatch.

It's been years. He still hasn't forgiven her. She once asked him when he would, and his reply was; "When the scars fade."

She remembers those scars. The ones that were from falling rock and lava, among the others she caused from training. THe ones that made it hard for her to still meet him. And he knew that, which is why he kept showing up.

Wind whipped through the park, tugging at her thin scarf and at his white curls.

"Well?"

She sighed, and slid the bookmark between the pages, not caring if it was actually the page she was on. (This was the only book she brought to the park, and she never usually got past page one anyway).

"Where to today?" she asked dully, sliding the book into her bag, and her bag over her shoulder.

"Coffee?"

"Hot chocolate. You know me better than that." She stood up, and they both walked out of the park together.

Just like always.

----------------  
...yeah.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** So long and Goodnight

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Teen Titans or Helena by MCR (the obvious lyrics)

**Pairings: **None.

* * *

Tanya's life was unremarkable, even for a girl who never got to grow up to be a woman. She was average in school, had a few friends, and loved pizza. She was a completely average teenager, despite being adopted. 

It was the way that she died was what attracted attention.

-----

Living in Jump City had its risks. You had villains who could attack at any point of the day, "heroes" who fought back, and then the gangs in Downtown Jump. Most people lived her for, at most, a year or two, then moved to the suburbs. The schools were kept near the outskirts of town if possible, to save from hazard. The mall was not.

Some crazy villain (who had been caught later, but would get out anyway) decided to try to rob all of the stores in the mall, and when the Titans came to fight...there was a lot of damage.

One small girl went missing for an hour afterward, only to be found by the parking lot. A couple were trapped under wreckage in the Food court, but they got out okay. Other than that, the people thought that everyone who was there had been okay.

That is, until six hours after the fight. A man who was clearing out the wreckage of the Abercrombie and Fitch found a broken cell phone in the back of the store. There was still a pale hand holding it.

-----

Tanya Markos died in the back of an Abercrombie and Fitch, trying to call the police for help, when the ceiling collapsed. Her spine was snapped by a beam, and she severed an artery in her neck. She bled out while the people were trying to clear the store out.

-----

Her few friends from school and their families went to the funeral, a few going up to the alter to speak about what a great person she was, how awesome it was to know her, even for a year. Her parents confessed that they regretted letting her go to the mall that day, but would remember her as their own daughter.

Then, halfway through the service, the door opened. No one paid any attention to the two teenagers who walked in, everyone assuming that everyone else knew who they where. The blonde boy in a black suit, and the girl with purple hair and a black dress sat in the third row from the back. The service continued on.

A few minutes later, a tall man with white, curly hair and an eye patch walked in. A few people began to whisper amongst themselves, and a rumor formed that the man was Tanya's biological father. No one took in the dirty looks the blond teen was shooting across the aisle, but nobody in the back of the church spoke up during the service.

-----

Afterwords, the teenagers and the man were seen arguing in the parking lot. The blonde boy was yelling in the man's face, held back only by the girl who was there with him. The man seemed to be talking quietly, then walked away from them.

The blonde boy was heard to scream after him, "You will never miss her as much as we will!"

To which the man replied, "You mean your friends who don't believe that girl is Terra anyway?"

The blonde boy said nothing, and let the man walk away.

-----

The inscription on Tanya'headstone read, "A daughter and a friend, our Tanya. We will all miss you. So long, and goodnight."

* * *

Just a little info

1) Yes, Tanya is Terra. The "man" is Slade, Blond kid is BB, and Raven is that girl.

2) Yes, BB is blonde. Read the comics if you don't believe me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Are we the last living souls?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Teen Titans or the title, which is also a song by the Gorillaz

**Pairings: **None.

* * *

At the end of the day, Slade knows that he can usually find Terra sitting on her small bed, in her small room, either on her laptop or reading.

Tonight, she is staring at the wall space next to the door. She has not changed out of her uniform, which if grimy and covered with flecks of mud (and what is possibly dried blood). Her mouth is hanging open, and she has a dull, faraway look on her face. She doesn't acknowledge Slade's prescence when he walks in. She keeps perfectly still.

"Are you alright?" Slade asks, not out of concern for her _specifically,_, but to make sure that she'll be okay enough to go back out tomorrow.

"They're dead." Her expression doesn't change when she says this, except that her mouth is closed now, and she doesn't look as shell-shocked as she had before.

"Yes, they are." No use sugar-coating it, she needs to hear it. "You need to drink this," he adds, holding a cup of steaming liquid out to her. She looks at him dully, then to the cup, then returns to staring at the wall. She is the picture of apathy.

"Terra-"

"They're _dead_," she reiterates.

"Terra, I'm serious. If you don't drink this, I'm going to force you to. You don't want me to do that; this is a very hot drink."

She looks back at him, and takes the cup slowly. She takes slow and even sips, then deeper ones as the drink cools. Tears begin to stream down her face as she does, and by the time the cup is empty, she's sobbing. "They're _dead_!"

"Yes, they are." He knows better than to try and cheer her up; he knows that, if he does, she'll be useless. She needs to understand what she did, and overcome it.

So he lets her lean against him for support, holds him for strength, and lets it all out. When she's done crying, she wipes her eyes and apologizes for overreacting.

He forgives her, of course. What good is a soldier who doesn't trust him?

* * *

Yawn 'night y'all 


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Don't you shiver

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Teen Titans or the title, which is a quote from a song by Coldplay, "Shiver"

**Pairings: **Slerra if you squint a little

* * *

She fell to the floor, her back arched in pain and s hock of how much the blow actually hurt. She instinctively grabbed her arm where Slade had lashed out at her with his bo-staff, and had to bite her lip from screaming. They were only sparring, but that didn't mean that she couldn't get hurt.

"Terra?" His voice was indifferent, but he ran to her side and knelt down in front of her. "Terra, let me see..."

His voice was low and soothing, and Terra slowly pulled her hand away from her arm. He reached out slowly, brushing his fingers over the tear in her sleeve, and the gash in her skin. She moaned aloud, then bit her lip again. Slade didn't say anything, but slowly took off one of his gloves. As carefully as he could, he tore the sleeve off at the tear and pushed the rest of the material onto her shoulder. He examined the wound while Terra watched him, her wide eyes sparkling with tears.

After a moment he sighed and stood up, helping Terra up as well. He brought her down to another room in the compound, where the various first aid tools and materials were kept. He quickly located rubbing alcohol, gauze, and bandages. He set about cleaning the cut, ignoring Terra's gasps and groans of pain. He got her arm wrapped up and cleaned before saying anything else.

"You all right now?" She nodded slowly. "We'll have to be more careful from now on, won't we? he said lightly, as he brushed his fingers over the bandage, then down her arm to her elbow. She shivered, almost moving away from him, but she kept her eyes on him, his mask. She wondered, not for the first time, what he looked like, and why he seemed to take such care with her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Penance

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Teen Titans

**Pairings: **Blatant Slerra and implied actions

**Other Notes:** This is from Terra's POV from when she is in the statue.

* * *

Terra used to have too much time on her hands at night. She used to be too pumped after training all day to fall asleep, and unless Slade has to...talk to her later at night, all she does is think.

She used to think about the Titans a lot, about how much fun the Tower was. That was during the first few nights she was back, though. That was before she had spent more time with Slade, and stopped missing Beast Boy so much.

That was something else to think about; Beast Boy. That one night at the carnival really confused her, and thinking about it too much hurt sometimes. But yet again, that was before she had spent more time with Slade. Now she wasn't so confused. She was...pretty sure of the choices she had made.

But then, when she couldn't sleep, all she could think about was Slade. She kept going over what she felt when she first saw him without his mask on, that unexplainable rush of emotion. She thought of it when he was holding her, when she was trying to fall asleep in his unfamiliar bed, the night after she first whispered "I love you..." and he answered her.

Now she thinks of the promises she made as a lovesick teenager. The promises he whispered to her, that she believed. She realizes now that she was being used, and with a nauseating sensation, realizes that he lied to her.

And she thinks now, of penance; of a punishment undergone for forgiveness of sin. She wonders if this stone prison is her punishment, and if it's appropriate.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title**: Villain

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Teen Titans

**Pairings:** Slade/Terra

* * *

The two of them had been traing for a good portion of the day, finall ending with a meditation session, out away from the compound. As the sun began to set, Terra turned away from her view of the desert to the view of the bay. Slade stood beside her, and for a while, there was nothing to break the silence; that is, until Terra spoke up.

"Why do this?" Terra asks, looking out over the water, staring at the T in the distance.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Why fight a bunch of teenagers, I mean. If we-if they were normal, they'd be in high school. They're practically kids."

"You're including yourself in that statement, of course," Slade replies flatly.

She stutters, "Well, yeah. If we were normal, we-I mean..."

"If we weren't who we are." He looks down at her, but she can't seem to look in his eye. "If we weren't who we are, if we didn't have the abilities we had, it wouldn't be the same. But, we also wouldn't have the same choices we do now."

She finally looks at him, and says in a rush "If I had a choice, I wouldn't give up who I am. I've been with all the 'normal' people, and it isn't worth it."

"Really? You wouldn't take the chance to not end up here?" He doesn't have to add, 'with me.'

She jumps up from her sitting postion, and says, "Of course not; I'd never give up this power," she gestures to the earth when she says this, while staring up at him. "I want to stay here like this."

It's her way of saying, 'I'll never leave you.'

He nods and turns back to the water. He squinting slightly in the sunlight, and gold light softens his harsh features; Terra has never wanted anything more than right now, when she wishes he would just pull her close. Instead, she says, "You never answered my question. Why do we-why do you do this?"

He does pull her closer now, and he whispers "Because I'm a villain, my dear."

* * *

Where does this stuff keep coming from? (Review please :D )


	9. Chapter 9

**Title**: Beginning

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Teen Titans

**Pairings:** Slade/Terra

**Other Notes:** For the first line, I couldn't find the exact quote because Titansgo!net is down, so I did the best I could :D; Set during Aftershock 2

* * *

"That's nothing compared to what I'm about to do to you." The words are undescribably laced and dripping with hateful emotions that Terra can't even describe. All at once she feels scared and alone; then she realizes that she is alone, now.

Terra doesn't bother trying to defend herself or fight back when she returns too early after running away from a fight. Part of her whispers evilly about how much she deserves the pain. A smaller, nastier voice is telling her she likes it.

(The first two punches hurt, the next few are duller and easier to ignore.)

A louder voice reminds her to just bide her time, that Slade will get what's coming to him soon. She can pay him back for everything.

It's easy to listen to that voice; Terra's known since the beginning that he's lied to her. He promised he would never hurt her, and he has. He promised, in a way, that she had no friends, and she knew that that couldn't be true.

(The back of her head slams into the wall, and a something warm trickles down from the back of her head. His grip on her hair rips the gash open wider, and if they both survive the night, Wintergreen might stitch her up. Terra misses him, suddenly, and wishes she had remembered to thank him for cleaning her up all those times before he left.)

She knows that the Titans will finally catch up with them tonight. She knows they will lose.

(He pushes her face first into the wall, tearing off some of the bandages and scraping her knees, stomach and forehead. Bending her arm back, he whispers something she can't hear over the ringing in her ear, and he tosses her against the wall on the opposite side.)

She also knows that the foundation of the compound she and Slade live in is set above a volcano. A dormant one, but only just.

(The ringing gets louder when he kicks her head, and she almost wishes she could just black out and get it over with.)

The only thing Terra doesn't know is how much stress she would have to be under or how much force she would have to use to destroy this whole place. She can barely suppress the power as is.

He finally walks away from her, and she curls up into a ball, gingerly touching the bruises that are already forming. She's hoping the gash on the back of her head will clot up soon, because she's already lightheaded.

She doesn't know for sure when they will get here, but she hopes the Titans are on their way.

* * *

I was going to write something completely different, and sith a lot more subtext, but this is definitely better than what I had in mind. I hope you like it! 


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Mortal

**Pairings:** blatant Slerra

**Other Notes**: Implied actions, etc. Post Betrayal Apprentice!Terra

* * *

Wintergreen knew he should have said something when Slade brought Terra back for the first time. He should have pulled Slade aside the moment after he introduced her and Terra simply smiled in greeting. It was that look of almost pure innocence that Wintergreen _knew_ Slade was going to mess with somehow. To this day he knows he should have talked to Slade or at least told him not to mess with the Teen Titans so soon after what happened with Robin. Beyond that, there were many other, unsavory reasons she shouldn't be here...

But instead he smiled back and showed her to her quarters. She couldn't have been older than fifteen...

When Terra left a few months later, Wintergreen was secretly relieved that nothing had happened, other than the "training" that could easily be viewed as abuse. But who was he to complain? He was Slade's last friend, and Terra seemed to be gone for good. She got out in one piece. She was lucky, even if she didn't know that herself.

Then, a few weeks later, she came back obviously unwell. The first time Wintergreen saw her again, she looked lost and confused. He could only guess what Slade had done to aid in her breakdown, but she seemed to be okay with living on the compound again. The training began again, and despite that, Terra slowly got better.

About two weeks after she came back, Wintergreen saw them leaving the training room together; Slade seemed to be telling Terra something, who was looking up at his unmasked face with admiration and…something else.

After Terra ran off down the hall (the wrong way too, her room was on the opposite end), Wintergreen walked up and said, "Sir, may I ask you something?"

"Of course," Slade replied, in a tone that implied that there were certain questions that Wintergreen shouldn't even think of suggesting.

"I'm assuming that the young lady doesn't know about your...abilities?" he asked, putting emphasis on the words 'young lady'.

"No."

"She doesn't know that you aren't mortal?"

"Not yet."

"Is it because you think she isn't ready to hear about it, or is it something else?"

"I don't quite trust her yet. I was going to tell her tonight, but I won't be sure if I trust her until tomorrow." Slade grinned in a way that made Wintergreen very suddenly nauseous.

"Sir-"

"That will be all, Wintergreen."

Slade walked away, leaving Wintergreen wishing that he had said something months ago the first time Terra smiled.

-----

Wintergreen's that guy in a white suit in several episodes on TT. He's never spoken or anything, but he's lurking there! (There isn't much on him at Titansgo, but he was a mildly important character in the comic series.)


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** Darling, don't you see…

**Pairing:** Slade/Terra

**Other Notes**: A sort of Terra stream-of-consciousness ficlet. After Aftershock Pt.1.

* * *

I couldn't deny Slade anything. He's done so much for me, guiding me and training me. I can't see why the Titans think he's so evil...

Well sure he's mean sometimes, but who doesn't get mad? I've had to vent my rage more than once while I was living with him. Sometimes, yes, because of him, but it was also a lot of learning to let go and to control myself.

I had to let go of a lot of memories that were weighing me down. My past, the people I accidentally killed, but it was all because I didn't know any better. And the thing with the Titans...well, Beast Boy should've just left me alone after he betrayed me the first time.

That liar. They're all liars and they deserved everything that happened. I, of course, regret nothing I'd done to the tower or the whole stupid team. I don't need them, and I never did.

I hate them. But it's okay, because Slade's helping me now. He lets me know when I've been bad, and he...rewards me when I've done something good. Like when I thought I killed those Titans, Slade was so proud and happy that it had finally happened.

He hates me, but it's okay, because I think he loves me a little. It's okay, because I hate him, but love him. I think.

I owe him everything, you see? If you had been in my place, you would've understood why I did what I did, and after everything, I couldn't deny him all of those little things...

* * *

Sorry it ended up so short. Interpret this however. I need some sleep!


	12. Chapter 12

**Title:** I need a release from this troublesome mind

**Dislcaimer:** I don't own TT

**Pairing:** Slade/Terra

**Notes:** PleasepleasePLEASE don't read this unless you like Slade/Terra (although, if you got this far, I expect that you do). This takes place right after they leave the House of Mirrors in Betrayal and. Um. Yeah. It's one of those "creepy" fics. I haven't written anything like this in a while...

* * *

Terra is not thinking about Beast Boy. She is _not_ thinking about Beast Boy. The last thing on her mind is Beast Boy. She is so much more preoccupied with Slade right now. He thinks she has finally made up her mind. She has. She has made up her mind. She's made her choice. 

She's not stupid, she's known that Slade was wary of letting her go to the tower. She knows that it was because of...the Titans. That he didn't want them to win her over, or to distract her. It was **not** because of Beast Boy, because she's not thinking about him. He knows now that she _did_ get distracted, but she is trying to stay focused.

Still, she couldn't think of Beast Boy earlier when Slade was saying something to her, shaking her arm. Terra could barely focus on Slade at the moment; she was trying to ignore what had just happened. And she wanted to hurt him. Not Slade, never him, never Slade, he's been so good to her...She was just trying to suppress the question, "Why would Beast Boy lie?"

Slade had pulled his mask off to get a better look at her. He said something about her listening to him, and he had sounded vaguely nervous. He had leaned down...

And that was why she wasn't thinking now. She had kissed him. And he hadn't done anything about it except kiss her back. Maybe it was from leftover adrenaline from the fight, or maybe it was because he knew she was just upset, but when he pushed her against the wall, Terra stopped trying to make sense of things.

She can't think of Beast Boy if his hands are on her back and waist, inching under the edge of her shirt, and hers are on the back of his neck. She can't think of anything but Slade when his lips move from hers to her cheek and then her neck. The only name that comes to mind is Slade's, and she does manage to moan it when he becomes more...persistent. But when she pulls her hand away to brush the hair out of her eyes, she sees...

The dim, red light from the exit sign was enough for her to see her hand was shaking. She can think of why it's shaking, why she is trying so hard to forget, why she is letting Slade-

She clenches her hand into a fist, and the cinder block surrounding the sign groans and crunches down, crushing the sign and erasing the red glow. If Slade heard anything -and he most likely did- he didn't give any sign of it.

But now his hands are under her shirt, and her hands are in his hair, and Terra can't decide if she was gasping because of Slade, or because she was trying so hard not to think of _him

* * *

_Um..Yeah. I was trying to go for a stream on consiousness thing, and I hope it didn't come off as rambly. Just review if you like! 


	13. Chapter 13

**Title:** Lead

**Disclaimer:** Not mine

**Notes:** This is slowly morphing into something longer. And I for one cannot wait to write it XD

Slade/Terra (again), rated T for allusions to eating disorders and to adult situations. Set before Betrayal.

* * *

Nothing has bothered him before now. Nothing dealing with "training," pulling her away from her friends, none of that. He could excuse anything that had happened to her under his care; she was old enough to make her own decisions.

_"Slade, I hate it there. I hate lying to them and spending so much time away from you..."_

It was her rib cage. It was watching the bones move under her skin when she took in a breath, eventually sloping up to her hip bones that jutted out as well. A month before he'd met her, he could bet that she was in poor shape. A month after he met her, she was skinny, but toned. She had muscle instead of fat, where it counted.

_"I hate not seeing you for a week, and when I do all we do is talk. I miss you..."_

Now he had started pushing her when he saw her, because they needed to be ready for whatever could happen. He didn't pay much attention to her diet, and Slade had assumed that because of Terra staying with those kids, he would have to work against her weight for the opposite reason.

_"Terra-"_

_"Please..."_

But her ribs. It was those annoying bones that were so easy to ignore earlier...not so easy when she was sleeping. Not when her skin shone with sweat, not when he was still trying to remember those pleasant memories when Terra was happy to see him, not now.

_"You'll have to go back in the morning, very early-"_

_"I don't care. Please, Slade..."_

_"What-" His hands paused under the edge of her shirt, pushing her away for a moment._

_"God, don't worry about it, please..." she whispered, pulling him back. He stopped worrying._

Now she still had a faint smile on her face, still wrapped up in the sheets, but he was watching her breathe. Every shallow breath Terra took made him wince watching her ribs. The guilt was massing in his stomach like a lead weight; He could splay his fingers down her sides, between the bones, if he wanted to.

_"Slade..."_

The ribs made him pay attention to how thin her hair was, how tired she looked. Things that he attributed her disregard for keeping her hair clean, or how little sleep she was getting. She was exercising iso much/i, but never getting stronger. How could he have never noticed until now?

_She gasped his name, digging her nails into his shoulders..._

She shifted, turning to her side, facing him, and opening her eyes slowly. She smiled up at him before he turned away, rubbing his forehead.

"You okay?" she asked, with genuine concern. He almost laughed.

"Fine." He heard her move to kneel behind him on the bed before she slid her arms around his waist.

"Thank you for letting me stay so late," she said as she rested her head against his shoulder. "When do I have to leave?"

"Soon. I'll take you back, you won't have to walk."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." He almost asked about her weight, but he didn't. It wasn't any concern of his what Terra did to herself; she was old enough to make her own decisions. And they certainly weren't any he would have to live with much longer. Once they'd taken care of the Titans she could get time off from her training.

"How much longer can I stay?" There was a new emotion in her question, as she moved her hands lower down his abs, lower...

She would be fine. He could live with this now, he could live with letting her stay a little longer...but he kept his attention away from her stomach.

_"Slade-!"_

He had other things to focus on.

* * *

I did my research on bulimia before I posted this here; in some cases, bulimics will binge (overeat) and then excercise to burn the calories excessivly. Just in case...

I regret nothing! ((waits for the flames))


	14. Chapter 14

**Title**: Leave

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Teen Titans

**Pairings:** Slade/Terra

**Notes:** Mildly sexual content, so rated T. It took too long for the tt15fics challeneg at eljay, but I'm pretty happy with it.

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She moved as quietly as she could, slowly and carefully. Her abs felt sore from earlier that day and earlier that night, but she tried to push it away to focus on getting out quietly-

"Terra?" She froze on the edge of the bed, reaching for her t-shirt. "Where do you think you're going?"

She had a reasonable excuse, she just had to tell him; Slade'd understand..."Um. Well."

"Just tell me." It sounded easy enough, but she didn't have to turn around to know he was staring her down, which made things slightly more difficult.

"I was going...back to my room." Oh crap. She wasn't sure how angry he would be; he never even implied that she could go back to her room earlier.

"Why?"

"I didn't know if you wanted me to stay." Now she was confused. Why wasn't he angrier?

"Turn around." She did so, slowly, and it took a lot of willpower not to jump away when she saw he was sitting next to her. "Terra why would you think that?"

She hoped it was rhetorical. She hadn't even opened her mouth to stammer out an answer before he began to talk again.

"I obviously think highly enough of you to train you as much as I do, correct?" She nodded. "And I trust you enough train you unmasked as I am. Again, correct?" Again, she nodded. Her eyes focused on everything she could without looking into his eye; his white curly hair, his smirking lips, his eyepatch-

"Terra."

"Yes, sir." It was automatic, but she bit her lip and wished she could've said...anything else. Not that. Terra's eyes kept moving as he ran a hand through a her hair, then down her cheek, pausing near the edge of her lips.

"I have a lot of respect for you, even if you don't think so." She didn't, but she didn't dare interrupt him. Now she was watching Slade's hand, as she moved one of her's up to it.

"I just didn't think you'd want me to stay in your room-"

"If I didn't want to, I wouldn't have let you in here in the first place." His hand pushed her head up so that he could look into her eyes. "Can you believe that?"

"Yes," was her quiet reply.

"Would you like to stay?"

She wanted to scream, 'More than anything!' Instead, she turned her face so that her lips brushed against his thumb, his hand, which still cupped her face. When she whispered, "Yes, Slade," her tounge flicked against his thumb on the 'L', and her eyes met his.

Somehow, this moment was more terrifying to her than an hour or so ago when he invited her in in the first place, when she (clumsily, she worried) made love to him, and they dozed for a while after. Now she worked to keep her eyes from widening in fear when he didn't say anything.

Finally, he murmered, "Then stay," before leaning in to kiss her. The hand that had held her face now moved slowly and lazily, tracing the body he memorized earlier, Terra responding in kind.

"Aren't you tired?" he asked after a few minutes of wordless communication.

"I could ask you the same thing," she whispered, playing with the hairs on the back of his neck. She shifted so that he was kneeling next to her as she leaned back to lie down again. When he didn't say anything, she sighed and said "Of course I am; I'm tired and I'm sore, but I'm more awake now then I was when I was trying to leave."

"You knew I couldn't let you," he replied, smirking again.

"I know that now. You really taught me a lesson." She let her fingers tap out a rhythm against his shoulder. "I _am_ tired, but if you want me to stay so badly, give me a reason to, okay?"

"Gladly."

And after that, any further conversation was limited to rustling blankets, and hushed moans. Eventually, Terra forgot why she wanted to leave in the first place.

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Where does this stuff keep coming from? (Review please :D )


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Escape  
Pairing: None  
Summary: Terra's lesson in cruelty begins with testing the doors...  
Notes: Set Before Titan Rising, during Terra's original training period. Idea sparked from a quote from Human, by The Killers "Sometimes I get nervous when I see an open door"  
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans

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The first time Terra tried to escape was an accident. She woke up an hour earlier than neccessary for her training, and had quietly made her way around Slade's base. She tested the doors she found at random, peeking in when the doors weren't locked, and moving on when they were. Near the warmest part of the building, on one of the upper floors, she found an unlocked one that surprised her when she opened it.

A vast, golden desert greeted her curious gaze. Her mouth hung open as she looked around, trying to figure out where she was. She watched various animals running for their hidden tunnels, to get out of the sun before she let herself relax. As the sun began to warm her hair, she let her eyes close and her head tip back to face the rays. At this point, she hadn't seen the sun in about a week.

Her moment of peace was interrupted by the footsteps behind her, Slade's heavy boots thunking against the ground that let her know that she was screwed, even if she didn't mean anything by this. She didn't get a chance to explain herself, and she was punished for her first offense of trying to get out.

The next time she tried to escape was after a long and harsh day of training. Terra could already feel her left eye swelling up in a purplish bruise, ironicly mirroring Slade's eye, or lack therof. Her shiner was obstructing her sight, but she knew she had too keep running away from Slade, or she would suffer.

She was running to get away from him, from his fury aimed at her for her small inabilities, for the little things Terra couldn't do and the blows she couldn't dodge. Her bruises blooming into the bluish injuries ached as she ran, throbbing and threatening to pull her under-but she couldn't let that happen. It had only been a week, surely she could find the doorway out-

She shrieked, actually _shrieked_, when Slade cut her off at a corner. In her haste to get away, she turned too fast and fell against a wall. One of the bruises on her upper arm connected with the wall with all the speed Terra put into running away, and the resulting pain sent her sinking to the floor. He stood over her as she groaned in pain, as every little move she made resulted in agony.

Her punishment for the second offense was for Slade to just leave her there, lost and in pain, for one cold night.

Terra didn't attempt to leave again, not without Slade's permission, for another two weeks. At that point, she knew better, and had seen the depth of his cruelty. She learned to fear any move he made in her direction until she had completly surrendered with him.

The last time Terra got to leave was when Slade dropped her off in Jump Bay so that she could get to the Tower. The plan was for her to intergrate herself into the Teen Titans, if they would have her. And she would be successful, because she now knew too well the consequences of what could happen if she didn't.


End file.
